Rolling hills + polarized training (minus time)= gains?

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

Moderator: Moderator Team

Post Reply
cheapvega
Posts: 421
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2019 1:12 pm

by cheapvega

W/a toddler and an infant I literally have no time to ride outside of work hours. Thankfully there are some days where I can WFH on the trainer, and I can ride during my lunch break, so I'm looking to make use of that.

All the roads near me are rolling hills, so the zone profile of my outdoor rides is a V or U.... I'm generally either climbing or descending 3-8% grades. My main sport is bodybuilding/weightlifting as well but I'm prioritizing cycling a little more. I don't race or have any plans to.... I just want to get faster on my local "punchy" roads. Anyway I am looking to run the following 4 week cycle:

Week 1: 2hr Z2 ride, 6x hill sprints (about 1hr), 1hr outdoor ride
Week 2: 2hr Z2 ride, 6x hill sprints, lower body weight training (1x)
Week 3: 2hr Z2 ride, 1hr outdoor ride, lower body weight training (1x)
Week 4: 2hr Z2 ride, lower body weight training (2x)

I was told that sweet spot-ish work will work against my weight training, so polarized training will help build my aerobic base and reinforce my anaerobic strength without converting my fast twitch muscle to slow twitch. Does this make sense? Should I change the order of my workouts during the week (i.e. start with weight training and end with the Z2 ride?)? I made gains before basically doing nothing before but the outdoor rides and sprints, so I'm hoping adding the Z2 stuff will help more. I'm less bothered about FTP and more about training specific to the roads around me.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply